^ibtavy ot €anQxt$^. 



Pu.|v. Ei^) 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SPEECH 

OF 

HEBJZIY CLAIT, 

Delivered at the Mechanics' Collation, in the 
Apoliomnn Garden^in Cincinnati^ (Ohio.) on t/i& 
Sd of August, 1830. 

Eighth to-st.— OUR VALUED GUEST. It is hig 
highest eulogium, that the name of HENRY CLAY is inse- 
parably associated with the best interests of the country, as 
their assertor and advocate. 

When the enthusiastic cheering which followed the read- 
ing of this toast had subsided, Mr. Clay rose and addressed 
the company as follows— 

Mr. President and Fellow Citizens : 

In rising to make ihe acknowledgments which are due 
from me, foi the sentiment which has been just drank, and 
forth^ honors which have teen sponianeously rendered to 
me, on mv approact., and during ray visit to this city, 1 feel 
more than ever the incompetency of all language adequate- 
ly to expre?^ the grateful fe lings ot my heart. Of these 
distniguishfd honors, crowned beads themselves might well 
be proud. They indeed possess a value far surpasMn^ that 
of anv similar testimonies which could be offered to the 
cl ief "f an absolute Government. There they are, not un- 
frequentlv, tffidered by r.luctani subjects, awed by a sei se 
of terror, or impelled i>y a spirit of 'servility. Here, m this 
land if equal law- and equal liberty, they are piesented to a 
private fellow citize, pos'^S'iug neiH er .jQV.e nor power, 
nor e- joking any rig- isor pi vileges which are not commoa 
to every member ol the communiiy. Power could i.ot buy 
nor de er them. An-l, what confers an fstiroabi- value 
upon tht^n. to me— what makes them alo. e worthy ofyou 
or moie acceptable to their object, is that they areo&ered. 
Dot to X\\c man, but to the public principles and public inter- 
ests which you are please"! to a>soci-te with his name. On 
this occasion too, they emanate from oneof t' ose gr. at pro- 
ductive classes whic;^ form the luain pillars of public liberty 
aid public prosperity. 1 thank ynu, fellow citizens, most 
covdially, fur tnese eudfaring proofs of your frieuHly at- 
tachment. Thny huvf- maiie ar. impression of gratitude on 
my heart which can never beeffncei', during the residue of 
my life. 1 avail m\ seif of this, last opportunity of being pre- 
sent at any large cvlleclioQ ol my fellow citizens of Ohio, 



2 

during my present visit, to express my respectful acknow- 
ledgmei'ts fo> the hospitality and kindress wi»h which I 
have be^-n every where received and entertained. Thmugh- 
out my journey, undf-rtaken solely for private purposes, 
Iher . l>as been a constant eflort on my side to repress, and, 
on thftt of my fellow citizens of Ohio, to exhibit public 
m nife'-tations of their affection Mud confidei ce. It 
has teen marked by a surcessi n of civic triumphs.— 
1 have been escorted (rem village to village, aod have every 
whfre found myself surrounded by large concourses 
of try lellow citizens, often ' f both sexes, greeting and 
welcoming me. Nor should 1 cio justice to ray feel- 
i»gs, if 1 cot finex the expression of my obligati<>ns 'o those 
only with whom 1 had the happiness to agree, r»n a late nub' 
lie event. They are equally due to the candid and liberal 
of those from whom ii wfts my misf rtune to differ on that 
occasi'O, for their exercise tnwaid<; me of all ti-e rites of 
iiospitality and neighbourly courtesy. It is true th^t, in one 
or two of the towi-s through which 1 parsed, I was inff-rmed 
that attempts were mr^de, by a fpw political zealots, to dis- 
suade lortionso'my fellow citizens from visiting and salu- 
ting me. These zealots seemed to apprehend that aii inva- 
ding army was about to enter t^e town : that it was neces- 
SRry to sound tve bells, to bpat the drums, to poif.t the can- 
non, and to mak*' all needful preparations for a resolute 
assault and a gdlant defence They were accordingly 
seen ir. the streets ^nd at public places beatingr up for re- 
cruits, and endeavouring to drill their men. But 1 b. iieve 
there were onlv a few who were awed by their thrratsor 
seduce* by their bounty, to enli-t in such a cause. The 
great bo y of thos*- who thought differently from rae, in the 
instance leferred to, remained firm and immovable. They 
could not comprehend tlat it was wrong to extend to a 
stratiger from aneighbouiins State the civiliti s which be- 
long to socif 1 li e. They could not comprehend that it was 
right to transfoim political differences into deadly animos- 
ilies. Seeing th*it varieties in the mrde of wnrshippinp the 
^r>at Rule? oi th*- Universe did not disturb »he harmony of 
private intei course, bey could not comprehend the propii- 
ety of extending JO mortal roan a saerifice whicli is not 
offered to our Immortal Father, of all the friendly and so- 
cial "eelii'gs of our nature, because we could not all a^ree as 
to the particular exercise of the elective franchise. As inde- 
i)en<tent and intellrgent freemen, they would not consent t* 
submit t> an arri'gaot usurpation w hich assumr d the riglit to 
control their actions and to regulate the fee irgs of their 
heart?, ai.d they scorned, with indignation, to j ield obedi- 
ence »o tne mandates of would-be dictators, lo quiet the 
appre^ eosions of these ztslots, I assure them that I do not 
jnarch a' the hea ■ of any military fori e; that I have reifher 
hor^e foot, nor ragoon ; and that I travel with n^.y friend 
Chajles, (a black boj residing io my family, for whom fc 



f(*el the same sort of attachment that I do for my own chy» 
dien,) wihtout sword, pistol, or musket. Another species 
of attempted embarrassment has been practised by an indi- 
vidual of this city. About an hour before 1 left my lodgings 
f<M this spot, lie csuseil a packet to be 1' ft ir» my room by a 
little boy; who sonn made his exit Upon opening it 1 look- 
ed at the signature, and that was enough for me. It con- 
tainr-d a long list of interrog^atories which F w^s ft quired 
publicly to answer. I read only one or two olthem. There 
are some me<i whose contact is pollution. I can recoenise 
no right in the person in questi n to cateciiiie me. I caa 
have no iotercourse with OBe who is a disgract- to the gallant 
and generous nation from whiC' he spra-ig. 1 cannot stoop 
to be thus interrogated by a man whose nomination to a 
paltry office was »*-j"Cted by n- arly th^ unanimous vote of 
the Senate ; I must be excused if, when aildressing my 
friends, the rr.echanics of Cin-innati, I will not speak from 
his not^s. On the lenewal r.{ the chaner of the pre.«ent 
Bank of ite United States, which i believf formed thesub-»- 
ject of one or two of these interrogatories, 1 will say a few 
words (or your, not his sake. I »ill observe in ihr first 
place, that I am not in favor of such a Bank as was recom- 
mended in the Message of the President of the U. States at 
the commencement cf the last session of Congress ; that, 
wit:, ihe Committee of !he two H-oses, 1 concur in thinking- 
it woulit be an insti(ution of a dangerous and alar.niog' 
chnrac«er ; and that, fraught as it would be with the most 
•orrupting ten.iencifS, it might be made powerfully in&tru- 
me' tal in overturning our libe-ties. As to the exioMng 
bank, i think it has bten gei;ei ally a.troinistered, and par- 
licul irly of latt? yeais, with gieat nbility ai.d integrity ; that 
it ha* tulfilledall the reasonable expectations ol those who 
con tiiuted it ; and, with the same committees, I think it has 
made an appr ximatiou towar is the equalization of ihe 
currency, as gr^at as is practicable. Wtiether t( e charter 
ought to be re. icwe*; or not. near six years ' ence, in my 
judgment, is a question of expediency to be deci'led by »he 
then existing state of the country. It will be necessary at 
that time to look carefully at the condition both of the 
Bank and of the Un/on. To ascertain, if the public debt 
shall in the mean time be paid off, what effect ihdt will 
piodue? what will be our ti^en financial condiiion? wSat 
that of local banks, the state of our commerce, foreign and 
domestic, as wfli as the concerns of our currency genet « iyl 
I am,thereiore, not now prepared to say whether the char- 
ter ought or ought <nt to be renewed on the ex|>iration of 
its present term. The Batik may b come insolvent n d may 
hereatier forfeit all pretentions to a lenewal. Theques ioa 
is prematnrti. I may not be alive to (orin any opinio;, upoa 
it. It belongs to posterity, and if they would have the 
goodness to decide for us some of the perplexing and practi- 
cal questions of lh« present day, wc might be disposed tp 



4 

decide that remote question for them. As it is, it ought to 
be indefinitely postponed. 

With respect to the American System, which demands 
your undivided approbation, and lo regard to which you 
are pleased t^ estimate much too highly my service, its great 
object is to secure the indepenvience of our country, tn aug- 
MMJt its wealth and to diffuse the comforts of civilization 
throughout society. That wnject, it has been supposed, can 
he best accomplished by introducing, encouraging and pro- 
jecting the artsam jDgus. It may he called a system of real 
reciproi ity, under the operation of which one citizen or one 
part of the country, can exchange one description of the pro- 
duce of Ifibor with another citizen or another part of the 
country for a different description of the produce ..f labor. 
It is H sy-fem which developes, improves and perfects the 
capabilities of our commoi. country, and enables us to avail 
oursplvfs ofall the regourc^s "►ith which Providence kas 
blfcst us. To the laboring cl sses it is invaluable, sine? it 
iiicreases and multip'ies tue demands for iheir industry, and 
gives them an option of empioymenis, It adds power and 
str-'ngth ti our Union by new ties of interest, blending aiid 
connecting togef er a'l its paits, and creating an interest 
with each in the prosperity ofth«^whole. It secures to our 
own country, whose skill and enterpris*?, pi opeiiy fostered 
and sustaine-), cannot be surpasseiJ, those vait profits which 
are made in other countries, bj the operation of converting 
the raw material into manufactured articlf^s. It naturalizes 
and creates withi-. t le boso;n of our country all the ai i«,and 
mixing the farmer manufacturer, mechanic, artist, aod 
Jh.se engagr^d in other Tocatioiis, together, admits of those 
mutual exchanges, so conducive to the prosperity of all 
and every one, free fr<jm thr perils of the sea and war. Ali 
flhis i' effects, whilst it nourishes and leaves a fair scope to 
foreign trade. Suppose *e were a nation that dad ourselves, 
and made a'l the implements ne< essary to civilization, but 
did not produce our own bread, which we brou^-ht from for- 
eign countries, although our own was capable of producing 
it, under the if fluence of suitable laws of protection, ought 
not fcuci) laws to be enacted? The case supposed is not essen- 
tially ifierent from the real state of things which led to the 
adoption ^-f ;htt America^ System 

Tiat system has haJ a wonderful success. It has more 
than rea ze « all (he hopes of its founders. If has complete- 
ly fal ified all the predictions of its opponents. It ha'- in- 
creased < e wealth, and power and population of ihe JSa- 
tioi . Itoas diminished tie price of articles of c :.sump- 
tio', and has fdaced them within he reach of a fat grtafir 
numbi I of our people than coulu ),ave fou^ d nivans to com. 
mand them, if they had been manufactured abroad instead 
of at home. 

But it is useless to dwell on the argument in support of 
this beneficent system before this audience. It will be of 



more consequence here to examine some of the objections 
wh ch are still urged against it, aud the means which are 
propoS' d to subvert it. These ohjeclions are now princi- 
pally confined to its operation upon the great staple of cot- 
ton wool, aid thi y are urged with most vehemence in a par- 
ticular State. If the objections are well founded, the system 
shoul.' he modified as far as it can consistenily with inter- 
ests in other parts of the Union. If they are not well found- 
ed, il IS to be hoped they w ill be finally abandoned. 

In api-roaching the subject, 1 hhve thought it of impor- 
tance to inquire what was the profit made upon capital era- 
pi yfd in the culture uf cott n, at its present reduced price. 
The result has been infonnaiion, that it netts trom 7 to 18 
p. r cent per annum varymg according «o the advantage of 
siiuation, and the degrte of skill, judgment, aud industry, 
afiplied to the production of the article. But the lowest 
rate of pr« fit, in tne scale, is more tlian the gieatest amount 
wiiich i made on capital employed in the farming portions 
ofthe U ion. 

If the cotton planter have any just complaint against the 
expediency of the Ainerican System, it must be founded on 
the fact, that he eiiher sells less of his staple or sell*, at lower 
price*, or purchases, for consumption, articles at dearer rates 
or of worse qualities, in consequence of that system, than he 
would do, if ii did not exiSt. If he would neither sell more 
of hig staple, nor sell it at better prices, nor could purchase 
better or ch* aper articles for consumptjon, provided the sys- 
tem did not exist, then he has no cause, on the score of its 
burthensorae <'peraiion, to complain of the system, but must 
lock toother sources for the grievances which be supposes 
afflx t him. 

As respects the sale of his staple, it would be indifferent 
to the plm'er wliether oiie portion of it was sold in Europe 
and theoth r in AiueNrica, provided the aggregate of bothi 
weie equal to all that he could sell in one market, if he had 
buton , and pr<»videu he could command the same price in 
lioih cases The double market would indeed be something' 
better for him, because of its greater security in time of war 
a- Well as in peacf, and because it would be attende«l with 
less perils and less charges if there lie an equa amouut ofthe 
raw m 'terial manufactured, it must be immaterial to the 
cotton planter in the sale of the article, wieiher there be 
two theatres ofthe mrinufacture, one in Europe and the other 
in America, or but one in Europe; or if there be a differetjce, 
it will be in favor ofthe two places of manufacture, mstead 
Clone, for reasons already assigned, and others thai will be 
heteafter stated. 

It could be of no advantage to the cotton planter, if all 
the rotton, now manufa: tured both in E 'rope ai.d America, 
was u»anufactured exclusively in Europe, and an amount of 
cotton fabrics should ;.e brought tiack from Europe, equal 
CO both whatis oovf brougtu hom there and wh£it is maau- 

*1 



6 

factured in the United States together. Whilst he would 
gain nothing, the United Slates would lose the profit and era- 
ployment resulting from the manufacture of (Nat portion 
which is DOW wrought up by the manufacturers of the United 
States. 

Unless, therefore, it caia be shown that by the reduction 
of import duties and the overthrow of thr American System, 
and by limiting the manufacture of cotton to Europe, a 
greater amour.t of the raw material would be consumed than 
is at present, it is difficult to see what interti-st, so far a» res- 
pects the sale of that staple, the cotton planter has in tne 
subversion of that system. If a reduction of duties would 
admit of larger investments in British or European fabrics of 
cotton, and their subsKquent importation into this country, 
this additional supply would take the piace, if consumed, of 
an equal amount of American manufactures,and consequent- 
ly would not augment the gtneral cniuinption of ihe raw 
laalerial. Additional importation does not necessarily im- 
ply increased crnsuraption, especially when it is efi'ected by 
a policy which would impair the ability to purchase and con- 
sume. 

Upon the supposition, just made, of a restriction to Eu- 
Trope of the raanufaoture of cotton, would more or lef s of the 
article be consumed than now is ? More could not be, un- 
less in consequence of si^ch a monopoly of the manufacture, 
3Suiope coulii sell more than she now does. But to what 
countries could she sell more ? She gets tht; raw material 
now unburthened by any dttties except such moderate ones 
as her policy, not likely to be changed, imposes She is en- 
abled thereby to sell as much of the maruactured article as 
she can find markets for in the States within her own limits 
ot" in foreign countries. The destructi n of the American 
manufacture would not induce her to sell cheaper, fut might 
enable her to sell dearer, than she now i:- es. The ability of 
those foreign countries, to pui chase aod consume, would 
«ot be increased by the annihilation of oui ii.aiiufaciures, 
and the monopoly of European rr.anufacture. The proba- 
bility is that those foreign countries, b>^ the fact of thai m^n- 
t'Poly, and some consequt-nt increase of price, would be 
vorse and dearer supplier than they now are under the 
operation of a competition between America and Europe in 
theirsupply. 

At rtiost, the United States, after the transfer from their 
territory to Europe of the entire manufacture of the article, 
could not consume of Euiopean fabrics fion. cotton a great- 
er amount than they now derive from Europe and from ma- 
jaufac'urhs within their own limits. 

But it is confid< ntly believed that the consumrtion of 
cotton fabrics, on the supposition which has been made, 
with the United States, would be much less than it is at pre- 
sent. It would be less, because the Ainerican consumer 
\rculd uot possess the meaus or ability lo purcbase as much 



of the European fabric as he now does to buy the American . 
Euio: e purchases but little of the produce of the Northern, 
IVliddle and Western regions of the United States. J he 
staple productions of thosa regions are excluded from her 
consumption b_y her policy or by her native supplies of simi- 
lar productions. Tlie effect, theietore, of obliging the inha- 
bitants of t ose regions to depiud n])on the cotton manufaC' 
tures of Europe for necessaty supplies ot the article, would 
be aiike inj'irious to them and to the cotton grower. They 
wculd suffer from ihe:r ui.ibiliiv to supply theii wants, and 
there wouM be a consequent dunmulion of the consump tioa 
of ootton. B. the location of the nianulHcture in the United 
States, the quantity of cotton consumeit is increased, and 
the more numerous por:ion ot their inhafjiiams, who would 
not be otherwise sufficiently supplied, arf abundantly served. 
Ti>at this is the true state ot things, I think cannot bv. doubt- 
ed by any reflecting and unprejudiced man. Tite esiabiish- 
mettt of manufactures within ttie Unitt-d States enables the 
manufacturer to scl' to the farmer, the mechanit, the physi- 
cian, the lawyer, and all who are engaged in other pursuits 
of life; and tliese, in their turns, supply the roanafatturer 
with 6ubsist.-nre, and whatever else his wants require. 
Under tf^'e influence of the prouct'ng policy, many new 
towns have been built and ©Id ones » nlarged. The popula- 
tion of these places draw their subsistence fr«ra the farming 
inteicst of our country, their fuel from our forests a^ d coal 
mines, and the raw materials fr"m which they fashion and 
fabricate, from the cotton planter and the mines of our 
country. Toese mutual exchanges, so animating and invi- 
gc^ating to the industry of the people of the United States, 
could not possibly be effected between America and Europe, 
it the latter enjoyed th-- monopoly of rr.anufacturitig. 

It results there fore,that, sjo far as the sale of the great South- 
ern staple is concerned, a greater quantity is sold and con- 
gumed, and consequently better price* are obtamed, under 
the operation of the American System, than would be with- 
out it. Doe* that sy.-tem oblige the coiton planter to buy 
dearer «r worse articles of consumption than he could pur- 
chase-, if it did not xist ? 

The same cause of American and European competition, 
which enables him to sed more of the produce of his indus- 
try, and at better prices, also enables him to buy cheaper 
a;. d better articles twr consumpiion. It cannot be doubted 
th'it the tendei-cy of the comp> titi .n between th ■ Eu opean 
and American maviufaciurer i« to reduc*^ the prc« and im- 
prove the qoaiity of their respec;ive fabrics, wlienevcr they 
come into collisio •• This is the immu;abl»- law of all com- 
petition. If the American nianufacture were discontinued, 
Europe would then exclusively furnish th'>iie supplies wtiicli 
are now derived from ti. establishments ii> l>oih Con ineots ; 
an i the first consequence would tie an augmentation of the 
demand beyond the supply equal t^ what is now manufae- 



8 

tured in the United States, but which, in ths contingency 
supposed, would be wrought in Emope. If the cl<^s'ru' tioa 
of the American manufactures were sudden, there ^oulu be 
a sudden and probKbly a coiisid. rable rise in thf Euro|.eaQ 
fabrics. Although, in the end. they mii^ht be wgain re<iuc- 
ed, It is not hkely that the ultimaie reduction of the prices 
wouid te to such rates as if both thi worksho.is of America 
and Europe remained sources of supply. The e would hIs« 
be a sudd*^ n leduciioo in the p»ice of the raw nriaterial in 
consequence o* the. cessa'ian of American deu.and. And 
this reduc»ioi' w<;uld be permanent, it he supposition be 
correct, that there would be a diminution in the consumption 
of cott.m f b ics arisini? out o( i ; e inability on the part of 
larffe portions of the people <>f the Ui-it^d States to purchase 
thi'SP of Europe. 

That ti e efiect of competition between the Europea-i end 
American manuTaclure has been to supply the Ameiican 
con.>-umer with ci eaper ^nd belter ardcles, since t .e adop- 
tion of the Amettcan Syst m, notwithstanding the exi tence 
©f cau.-es rthch have ob$"rt»oted iis fair operation, and 
retarded its full developi ment, is ircomestible. Both the 
freemaiv and the slave are no v better and ch' t»per supplied 
tb-iii tfey westa piior to an existence of (hat system. Cot- 
ton f'brics have diminished in pnce, and been impoved in 
Iheir t xlwre t. an extt n that ii is difficult fo»- the imagina- 
lioM to keej pace wiih. Th ,se pa' tly of cotton &iu\ pa.tly 
of W' ol are also better an! ctiedper supplied. The same 
observation is applicable to those wrjich are exclusively 
wrought of wool non or glass. In shoit, it is believed that 
ther» is not one it m of the Tariff, inserted for (hf protection 
oi native ndostry, which hns not fallen m price. The Ameri- 
can c nit.etition ha^ tended to keep own the Europr an rival 
fabijc, and the European has tended to lower ihe American. 

Of wi.attt.en can the South Caidina planter justly cora- 
plaio in the operation of this systnn ? What is there 
in it which jusiifies the harsh cind stroi-g epithets 
which some of her po iticians have applied to it? What is 
there in her condition whicfi warrants tJifir assertion that 
She is oppressed by a ttovernntent to which she stands Ik 
the mere relation of a colony ? She is oppre-,se' fay a gi*-at 
reiiuciion in the price of manufactured ai licies of consump- 
tion. 

She is oppresse-i by the advantage of two markets for the 
sale of her valuable staple, and for the purchase of object* 
required by her wants. 

She is ppressed by better prices for that staple than she 
could command if the system to which they object did not 
exiit. 

Sue is oppressed by the option of purchasing cheaper and 
better articles, the pro su'-e of the hands wf \merican free- 
in<-M, insiertd of dearer and worse ariiclce, the produce ol 
the hands of British subjects. 



9 

She is oppressed by the measures of a government in 
which she'has had, for many ytars, a larger proportion of 
■power and influence, at home and abroad, than any Siaie 
in the whole Unioi , in rouiparlson wish the populaiion. 

A glance at the composition of Jhe Govt-rnmeni of the 
Union willdemonstraje the truth of tins last proposition. In 
the Senate of the United Stai«s, South Carolina having (he 
presiding cffirer, exercises nearly one-sixteenth in-tead of 
ons-twenty-fourth pan of both its legislative and executive 
func'ions. 

In b'.th branches of Congress some of her citizens now 
occupy, as Ch .irmen of Cumraittees. the m si iaip-itant 
and influential sta.ions In the Supreme Court of the Uni- 
ted States, one of her c itizens beini^ a member, she iias one 
seventh part, instead of abou' one twentieth, hr-r equal pro- 
portion of the whole power vested in that tribunal. Until 
within a few months she had nearly one third ofail the tais- 
sion£ of th'- first grade, from this to foreign countries. In a 
contingency which is far fr<.m impiissible a citizen of South 
Carolina would instantly become < barged wiiii the Admin- 
istration of tke whole of the vast power and patronage of 
the Executive f the U. States. 

Yet her situation has beeii corapar d to that of a Colony 
which has no voic& in the la« s enacted y the pareni country 
for its subj'ctiou ! And, to be relived from this cru I state 
of vassalat!e,a d ti. put down a system wi.ich has been ts'ab* 
Jished by the united vojcf of all America, some of her 
politicians have broached a doct- ine as new as it would be 
alarming, if it were ^u.^tain.-d by nu abers in proportion toi 
the zeal and fervid eloquence with whiih it is inculcated. I 
cal' ir a no^el doctrine. I am not unaware ihat attempts 
have been made tosuppoit it on the authority of certain acts 
of ray na ive and adopted States. Although many of their 
citizens are much more competent tnan [ am to vindicate 
them from this im; utation of purposes of disunion and 
reb- Uion, my veneration and affection for thetu boih urge 
me to bear my testimony o1 th.ir innocence of such a chaige. 
At the epoch of 179S— 9, 1 nad just attained my majority, 
and aith' ugh I wa- too joung to share in thepublic c unciis 
of my country, 1 ws acquainted with many ofthe act»'rs of 
that memora. le period ; i new th. ir views, ^lul termed and 
fitely expressed my qw%> opinions on passing' events. — The 
then Ar!minist;ation of the General Gov»-.nme' t was 
believed to entertain views (whether the belief was right or 
wrong is not mat- rial to this argument, ani is now an »tiair 
of hist ry) hostile to the exigence of the liberties of tins 
country. The wlien and sedition laws particularly, and 
other meas<ir<^8. Were thought to be th^' co-.sequenres and 
proofs of those vie<^s. If the- administration had suci> a 
purpos , It was feared that the extreme case, justifying 
forcible resistance, might arise, but c one believed that in 
point of fact it had arrived. No one coatendeU that a unglz 



10 

state possessed the power to annul tic rtellbftraie acts o?the 
whole. And the best evidence of these r»,:iJHiks is the fact 
that ihe most odious of those laws (the sp-Jition act) was 
peaceably enforced in the capital of that g^r^at state which 
took the lead in oppositi.m to the exisiino^ administration. 

The doctrine* of that day, and they are as true at this, 
were, that the Federal Government is a limitf'd Govmnienti 
that it has no powers but the granted powers. Virginia 
contended that ia case '» of a palpable, deliberate and 
dangerous exprcise ol other powers not granted by said 
compact, the States, wh ; are j-arties thereto, have the right 
to ;nte>pofe for arresting th*^ projjress of the evil, s»nd tot 
maintaining within ihtMi respective limits the authorities, 
right.-- and liberiies ap|)«^rtaining to theoi." Kentufky de- 
clared that th "several Staiesthat framed that insirument,the 
Fedf^-ral C nstitutinn, being sovereign and independent^ 
have the unque tionabb- light to judge of its infractions, 
and a uullificatioi) by those scverti^ntits of all unauthorized 
a<ts,done under color of that instiuuieni, is the rightful rent- 
ed^." 

INeither o those two Corom^-nwealths asserted the right 
of a single Siate to interpose and annul an act ol the wtiole. 
This is Ml] inference orawn from the doctrines then laid 
down, and it is i.ot a principle ex^'Ttssly asserted 
or (airly deduci' le from the language of either. 
Both refer to the States colle. tively ^and not indi- 
vidua'Iy) v\he>n th y assert their rigl t, id case of Federal 
u^urpaion, to interpose " for arresting the progiess of 
evil." Neither St :t' ever did, no State ever yet has. by its 
sepnrate legislation, undertaken to set aside au act of Con* 
gress. 

That thp States colhctively may interpose their authority 
to check the evils • f Fevlerai usurj)atiou is manifest. Ihey 
may dissolve the Union. They may alt r ai pleasure the 
chatacter of the Coi stituti'-n, by amendment; ihey may an- 
nul any acts purpoiing to havr been passed in corforniity 
to it, or they may, by their eiertior.s, change the luiiction- 
arit's to whom the adntinistration of it- : owe-- is confir- 
med, But no ouf I'tate, by itsnlf, is competent to ac- 
mplish these objects. Th^^ power of a single Statr o 
nunul an 8Ct of the wtole ha-, been res rved foi the discovery 
of some politicians io Sout ; Car'.dina. 

It is not my purpose, up o an occasion so unfit, to discuss 
this pretension. Upon another and a more suitable theatre 
it has bee' examined and refiit«*d with an ability ana elo* 
quen<;- whic- have never been sur[»ass <• on the fioots of 
Cot. gress. But Hsit i.s announced to be ore oi the means 
which is inte- ded to b' employ ed to break <lown t"e Anaeri- 
can '^ysten*. I trust that I shall be excused It r a few addition- 
al passing observatinns. On a late festive occasion, in the 
State wht-re if appears to find aios favor, it is said by a 
gentleraaa whom I once proudly called my fiiend, an«l 



11 

towards whom T liare done nothing to change that relatloi, 
' — a gei'tlefoan who has been high in the coiinciU and confi- 
deni e'-f the Naiion — that t*i» ta^ iO'must be rtsh\e'^ al all haz- 
ards. Anothtf gentlen)an, who is a c ndidatp for thp duel ma- 
gistracy I'f that stale, declartsthai the lime and the case for 
re- is'nnce hvd atriv d. Aidai'ird.a S^r.awr of the Uni- 
ted State?, who ei.joys iinboundfrd confidt^nce with the 
A">»-iitan Exf'utive. laid do^^n pi it-ciple* an urged a gU" 
nierts tending directly and inevitably to violent re»istauce, 
althnng'i he did n't indicate that an hi* specific .nni'dy 

The doctiine ofs«)me«tf the S<oth Carolina politi. ian^^ is, 
that it i- -om rtei< t" th.i State to annul, within Us Imits, 
the a thority of an act dt^libeiately pa«sed by 'he "oti^ress 
oft e Uniteci Sta'fs Th.;y x.U. not appear to hav^' looked 
much bev nd the simple act of i.uihficati n in"r the ronse- 
qu- nc> « which w uld en«u , and have . ot di«itincilv announc- 
ed whethei oi.f of thenMi-'ght not necessarily be to lifjht tip a 
civil wur. They seem, however, to suppose tha'- the Siate 
inigbt, after the act was performed, r^-oiain a member of 
the Union Novv, if one Sta^e can, by an act ot" its se})Hrale 
power absolve itself from 'he obligations of a law of C on- 
gre*s, and continue a part of the Union, it could hardly be 
exp' cted that anv other State would render obedience to the 
same law. Either every other State wotsW follow ttie nulli- 
fying example, or Congress waul-i f>ei itself constrained, by 
a sense of equal ooty t(» all parts of thi- Union, to repeal 
altog ther the rubified law. Thus, the doctrine of South 
Caoiina. although ii uf.mioally assuraps to act for one State 
Old* . in effect wi.u'd be leei»!atiiig for the whole Unio':. 

Congress emb« dies tt-e tollei tive wdl of the whole Union, 
an', that of Suth i aiolina among it- other raemb-^rs. The (^ j, 
lea slaiionofCo gress is, therefore, founded u|jon the basis *" 

of the representation of all. In the L gislatur , or a Con- 
vention of South Carolina, the will of the people of that 
State IS aiot e co'leced. T ey alone are represented, and 
the people of no ot'^er Stat' have any voic in their proceed- 
ings. To s< t up for that State a flnim, by a separate exer- 
cise of its power, to legislate in efftct for she whole Union, 
is to assert a [iretension at war wit: the fundamental prin- 
•iple- of all represertatirt and free goreriiraents. It wi.uld 
practically subject the unrepresented people of all other 
part's rftneUniiin to the arbitrary and despotic power of 
one £t-«te It would substantially convert ttien> into colo- 
nies, bound by the parpptal authority of that State. 

N r cai< thi-; ►normous p e'ension deriv any suppirt fronn 
the con. i erat>on that the pow- r to ennui is difie<er»i fi >m 
te p '"^ er ti- originate laws B' th powers are, in their na- 
tu e Ifgida'ivp; and tiie niisc' iefs which nMg' t accrue to 
the RepuMic from the anulnnntof its wholesome laws, 
Bi-y b^ just as git-at as th se which woidd flow fr m the 
Orij^irati r ofb d la«s There are three things to whicb^ 
mure iban all others, manklDd, in all ages, have shows 



tJtai^ 




12 

themselves to be attaclicd, their reh'gion, th&ir laws, and 
their !a jgiiage. 

But t has been argu.^djin the mostslemn manner, "that 
the acknow' dement of the exclusive right of the Federal 
Govcrcmeut to deteimin. th*- limits of its own powers, 
amoij.'ts to a recognition of its absolute supremacy over the 
States ar»<1 t*ie peoijle, aud involves the sacrifice not only 
of I ur rff-arest ri^'h^s «nd interests, but the very existence 
ofth SoinhP'U States." 

Id crt!.e« where theie are two systems of Government, 
operating at the sam*- limeand place over th*- sarae people^ 
thf on g^entriiland the other local r part'cul-ir, one sys'-ra 
or the other luust t.osstss (he right to «ipci'e npon the extent 
of the p:>wers. !•• «;ase* f.f cellision, which are cl<-.in>ed by 
the Geveral G vft. menl. No third party of sufficient 
imparti.iliiy, weieht, andresp-nsiMlMy, of er than such a 
tribunal as a Supjerae Court, has yet been devised, or per- 
hapscanbe cri^ated. 

The docti ir.e of one side is, that the General Government, 
though lini'ttd in its nature, must neces-'arilv possess the 
power to ascertain what authority it has, and by c>'<ns<'qu- 
ence, the extent of that authority. And that if its legis- 
lative or executive functisnari'S by art transcend that 
auiho ity,tne quf'sfion may be brought b» foie the Sopresr<e 
Court, and being affirmatively decided by that tribunal, t'-eir 
act ntu&t be obeyed until repealed or altered by competent 
power. 

At'ainsf the tendency of this doctrine to absorb all pi»wer, 
those who maintain it, think tiier^; are reaso able and, they 
hope, sufficient securities. In the fii st place, all are lefsrcsen- 
ted in every legislative or executiv. ait, and of course, each 
State ca- eiert its proper influence to j)revent the adoption 
of any that may be deemed prejudicial or unc-t stitutional 
— Ihen, there are sacred oaths, elections, public virtue and 
inteliigeace, the power of inipeachm^nt, a common subjec- 
tion to both systems oi those functionaries who act under 
eiiner, the right of the States to interpose and airend the 
Constitufion, or (o dissolve the Union ; and finally, the right, 
in extrejuf casfs, wht-n ail other remedies fail, to resist in- 
Bupprtable oppression. 

The necessity being felt, by the framers of the Corstitu- 
eion,to declare which system should be supreme, an 1 believ- 
ing that the securities now enumerated, or sone of them, 
were adequatf^, thev have accordingly provided that the 
Constitution of the United States and the Inws made ia 
pursu;»i)ce of it, and all treaties made under the authority of 
the Uait^-d Siates, shall be the suprtint law of the land ; and 
that the Judicial puwer shall extend to all rases arising 
tinder the Constitution, laws, or treaties, of the United 
grate . 

The South Carolina doct-inc, on the other side, is, that 
that State has the right to determine the limits of the power? 



13 

granfed to the g«ncral g^arernment ; and that, whenerer aoj* 
of its acts transcend those limits, in the opinion of the State 
of Suuth CuroHna, she is coa)p«t»'nt to annual thens. If the 
power with which the Federal Governraeni is inrested, by 
<lie Constitution, to determine the limits of its a.>thorit^ be 
liable to the possible daoger of ultimate consolidation, and 
all the safeguards which have been mentioned might prove 
inadcqudte, is not this pow-r, claimed for S Carolina, 
fraught with infinitely more certaii , immediate and latal 
danger ? It would reverse the rule of supremacy prescrib- 
ed in the Constitution It wo:ild render tiie authority of a 
«int»le State paramount to that of the wiiole Ui<ion. For un- 
doubtedly that Gevernment to some extent must be 
supreme which can annul and set aside the acts of ano- 
ther. 

The securities which the ppople of other parts of the 
Uiiitpd Slates possess a,i:-ainst the abuse of this tremmdous 
power claimed for South Carolina, will be found, ob com* 
parison, to be greatly iufpriv r to those wnich she has a- 
gainst the possible a'useg of the General Government. They 
have BO voice i- her councils ; t'ley could not, by tl'C ex- r- 
cise ofth- electiv'fanc jse, change her rulers; they could 
not iaipeacn ber juige*; they could not alter herconstituiioa 
nor aboliih her government. 

Under the S uih Carolina doctrme, if established, the 
coniequeMce would be a dissolution of the Union, immedi- 
ate, inevitar.'le, irreMstible. There would be twenty-four chan- 
ces to one against its <.ontinu.-d existence. The app eheu— 
ded dangers of the opposite doctrine , remote, conting- nt, 
and hardly possible, are greatly exaggerated, and againat 
their lealization all the precautions have been provided 
which human wudom and patriotic foresight could con- 
ceive and deviso. 

Those who are opposed to the supremacy of the Con- 
stitution, laws and treaties of the Unit-'d States, are adverse 
to ail unii-n, whatever contrary proffssioos they may make. 
For it mav be truly atHrmed, t idt nt; confederacy of States 
can exist without a powHj-, soraewheie residing in the Gov- 
ernment of t'jat co.frderacy, to determine t!.e extent ol the 
<auth 'rity granted to it by the confederating States. 

It is admitted that the South Camlina doctrine is liable 
lo abuse ; but it is contended, that the patri'iiism of each 
-State is an adequate security, and that the nullifying power 
would only be exerted "in an extraordinary case, where the 
powers reserved ti» the Sia'es under the Contitutiou 
are usurped by the Fedeial Gr^vernmept." And is not 
the patriot i Sin ot ell the States as great a safeguard against 
the a^'umptiua of powers not conferred upon the Gen Gov- 
ernment, as the patriotism of one State is against the dnial 
of powers which aie clear'y g'anteil ? But the cullifying 
power is only to be exercised in an extraordinary case Who 

i? to judge of this ex'raordinary case? What security is 

o 



14 

there, especially in moments of great excitement, that a State 
may not pronounce theplainest and moat common exercise of 
Fetleral power, an exlraordinary case ? The expressioos 
if the Consti'ution. 'general welfare,' have been often justly 
criticised and shown to co>>vey, in themselves, no pow<-r, 
although they may indicate how the delegated power should 
be exercised. But this doctrine of an extiaordinary case, 
to be judp' d of and applied by one of the twenty-four 
soveieigntieSjis replete with iofinitely more Manger than 
the doctrine of the 'general welfare' in the hands of all. 

We may form some idea of future abuses und«>r the South 
Carolina doctrine, by the application which is now propos- 
ed to be made of it The A'fierican Syst?ra is said to 
furnish an extraordinary case justifying that State to nullify 
it. The ^(0*^^r to regulate foreign commerce, by a tarifii 
so adjusted as to foster our domestic manufactures, has been 
exercised from the comroen<ement of our pres'-nt C' nstitu- 
tior> diiwn to the last session of Congress. I hav" been a 
member of the House of Representatives at threp diflf> rent 
periods when the subject of the Tariflf was d-ba'ed at great 
length, and on neither, according to my recollection, was 
the w-int of a constiutional power in Congress, to enact it, 
dw^-lt on, as forming a serious and substantial « bjection to 
its passage. Or; the last occasion ([ think it was) in which 
1 participate t in the derate, it was incidentally said to be 
against the spirit of the Constitution — .Whilst the authori- 
ty of the father rf the constitution is invoked tosaiction, 
by apervetsion of his meaning, pi inciples of disunion md 
rebf-Uion, it is rejected to su«stain (he controverted power, 
althoupb his testimony in support of it has been clearly and 
explicitiy rendered. This power, thus asserted, exercised 
and maintained, in favor of which, leading politicians in 
Sooth Carolina have themselves voted, is allegt^d to furnish 
"an eariraorrfmar^/ case, where the powers rf served to the 
States, under the Constitution, are umrpedby the Geneias 
Government." Ifitbe, there is scarc^^ly a statute in our 
code which would not present a case equally essraordinary, 
justifying S uth Carolina or any other State to nullify it. 

The U. States are not only threatened with the oullifica* 
tion of numerous nets, which they have debberat- !y passed, 
bu with a withdrawal of one of the members from the 
Confederacy. If the unhappy case should ever occur of a 
State being really ieeirous to separate itself from the Union, 
it would present two questions Th^ first woult be, wheth- 
er it had a right to withdraw, without the common c nsent 
of the members; and supposing, as I believe, no such right to 
exist, wheth-r it would be exjedinnt to ^ield consent. Al- 
though there may be power to prevent a secession, It 
might be deemed poli'ic to allow it. It might be considered 
expedient to permit the refractory state to take the portion 
t)f goods tiat falleth tohfr,to suffer her to gather her all 
together, and to go oil with ber living. Bat, if a state Ehou'd 



15 

bewilllngf, and alloweel thus to <]epart and to renounce her 
future portion of«he ioheritance of this great, glorious and 
prosperous Republic, she would speedily rpfiirn, ami, in 
language of repentance, say to (he other members of thig 
Union, Brethren " I have sinned against Heaven and before 
thee" Wether they would kill Che fa't^d calf and, chi- 
ding any complaining member of «h- family, say " this thy 
sister was dead and is alive again ; and was lost, and is 
foui'd," I sincerely pray the Historian may never have oc- 
casion to record 

But nullilication and disunion are not the only nor the 
most formidable means of assailing the Tariff Its oppo- 
nents opened the campaign at the last s- ssion of Congress, 
and, with the most obliging frankness, have since public- 
ly exposed their plan of dperations. It h t» divide and con* 
quer ; to attack and subdue the system in detail. They 
began by reducing the duty on salt and raoia«;ses, and, res- 
toring- the drawback of the d'jty on the latter article, allow- 
ed the exportation of spirits distilled from it. Tn all who 
are intf rested in the distillation of spiiiis from native mate- 
rials, whether fruit, molasses or grain, this latter measure 
is particularly injurious. During tbt- a imini$tration of Mr. 
Adams, the tiuty on foreign molasses was augmented, and 
the drawback, which had been i-reviously allowed of the 
duty upon the exprrtaiioo of spirits distilled from it. was 
r*peaed. The object was to favor native produce, and to 
lessen the competition of foreign spirits, or spirits distilled 
from foreigK materials, with spirits <<istiiled from domestic 
■laterial. It was deemed to t.-e especially advantageous to the 
western country, a great paet of whose grain can only 6nd 
markets at home and abroad by being converted into dis- 
tilled spirits. Encouraged by this partial success, the foes 
of the Tariflfmiy ns-xt attempt to reduce the duties on Iron, 
Wonl'^ns, ai d Cotton fabrics, successively. The Anierican 
Sys;em of protection should be regarded, as it is, an entire 
and comprehensive System, made "p of various ireras, and 
aiming at the prosperity of the whole Union, by protecting 
the interests of each part. Every part, therefore, has a 
direct interest in the protection which it enjoys of the arti- 
cles which its agriculture produces or its manufacforieg 
fabricat", and also a collataial interest in (he protection 
whi. h ether portions of the Union derive for their peculiar 
iutensts. Thus tiie aegregate for the prosperity of all is 
constituted by the sums of the prosperity of each. 

Take any one article ot the Tarifl'(lroo f'^r example^ and 
there is no such direct interest in its protection pervading 
the major part of the United States, as would induce Con- 
gress to encourage it, it it st o(» alone. The Sintesof Penn- 
sylvania, .New Jersey. New York and Kentu ky, which are 
most concerned, are encouraged in the production or manu- 
facture of this article, in consequence of the adoption of a 
general principle, which extends prot€Ctioa to other inter 
astsin other parts of the Uaion. 



r% 



16 

The straiagena which h«is been adopted bj the foes »# 
the system, to icstroy it, requires the exercise of constant 
vigilanre and firmness, to prevent the accoraplishmeot of 
the object. Tht-y have resolved to divide and c-nquer — 
the friends of th-- syst. m shouli assume th^ revolu'iooary 
motto ef our ancestors, ' United we stand, divided we 
fall." — They should illow no alteration in any part of the 
systtm. as it now exists, whirh did not aim t ree deiing 
more effiacious the system of protection on which the ii^iiole 
is found d. Every one should reflect, that i' is not equal to 
bave a • articular interest which he is desirous should be 
fostered, in his part o* the country^ protected against for- 
eign competition, vn'hout his being willine; to extend thr 
principle t» other interests, deservmg protection, in other 
parts of the U- ion 

But the mx asure of reducing the duty on salt and molass- 
cs, and f viviHg the drawback on the impoiiation of spirits 
distilled from molass s, was an attack on the system, less 
alarr.iing thau another which was made during the iast 
;3essioL' of ConfjTess, ^f a kindred s*^ stem. 

Ifarsy thing could be consideied as settled, under the 
present Consuuition of oar Government, I had supposed, 
that it was its auth rity to cou^tiuct »uch internal improve* 
uienis as may be deemed by Congress necessary and pro- 
per to carry into effect the power granted to it. Foi" near 
twenty-fiT" y^ars the jower has been asserted and exercis- 
ed b? the ©ovvrnment. Fw the iast fifthen years, it haa 
been often controverted in Ccrgress, but it has bee;.' invari* 
ably maintained in that body, by repeated decisions pio- 
nounced aft r full and elaboiste dehate, and at intervals of 
time implying the greatest deliberation. Numerous laws 
attest the existence of the power ^ and no less thr n twent- 
ly cdd laws have been passed in relation to a single work^ 
This pewer,^ necessary to all parts of the Union, isindi pen- 
sa le tot e W^st. Without it, this sertion can n^vcr enjoy 
any pan of the benpfi* of a regu'ax disbursement of the vast 
revevu?s of the United States I recollect perfectly well 
that, at the las' great struggle for the power in 1824, Mr. 
P. P Barbour, of Viiginia, ihe principal clampion against 
it, observed to me,, that if it were aflBrratd, on that occasi-sn, 
(Mr. He phill's survev bill) he should consider the ques- 
tion s ttled. And it vvas ;»ffirmed 

Yet we are told that this poner can no longer be exercised 
without an amentment of the Constitution ! On the occa- 
&i. u in S. Carolina to which 1 have already adverted, it was 
said that theTariflfaid internal i.nprovenients nre ntimate- 
)y C'lnnectp ?, and (hat the leath blow " bjch it was hoped 
the one had received, wdl finally de&iroy ttte other I 
Gontur in ihe oi>inion, that they ar<*intimateiy,if not indisso- 
lubly united. N)t conn cted together with the fraudulent 
intent which has been impute j, but by th'ir nature, by the 
ten ency of each to advance t e objects of the other, aad 
■srfbeth to augment the suca ol National prosperity. 



17 

If I could believe that the Executive message which was 
coiTimunicat. d to Congress upon the application ef the Veto 
totlie Maysville Koad, really expressed the opinion of the 
President of (he United States, in cnsequence ofthf unfor- 
tunate relations which have existed between us, I would for. 
bear to make any observation upon it. It has his name 
stiixed to it : but it it not every pai ei which bearj- the name 
of« distinguished personage, that is his, or expresst'S hig 
opinion^. We have been lately informed that the unhappy 
King of Eiighnd, in perhaps h;s last illness, transmitted a 
paper to Parliament, with his royal signature attachei to it, 
which became an object of gf eat curiosity. Can anyone 
believe that that paper conveyed any other sentiments thaa 
those of His Maj- sty's Ministers ? It is iinpossible that the 
Veto message should express the opinions of the President, 
and I prove it by evidence derived trora himself. Not forty 
days beforr that message' was sent to Congress, be approved 
a bill embrHcing appr* priaiions to various objects of inter- 
nal improvement and among others to improve the naviga- 
tion of Conn« aut Creek Although somewhat acquainted 
with the geojiraphy of out country, 1 declare I did net 
know of the existt-nce of such a stream until J read the bill, 
1 have since made it an objtct of inquiry, and have beea 
lold that it rises in one corner of Pennsylvania, and is dis- 
cl)fttged into Lake Erie, in a corner of the State of Ohio ; 
and that the uimost extent to which its navigation is suscp- 
tiblr of improvement is about seven miles .' Is it possi'jle 
that the President could conceive that a Natio7ial object, 
and that the improvnu'nt of a great thoroughfare or* 
which th** mail is transported foi some eight or ten States 
and Territories is not a national ceosideratioo ? The power 
to improve the navigation of water courses, nowheie ex« M^^fc^ 
prcssly recognised in the Constitution, is infinitely more '^ 

doubtful than the establishment of mail roads, which is 
explicitly autho'ized in that instrument! Did not the Pre- 
sident, during the canvass whi h preceded his election, ii. his 
answer to a lett^ r from Governor Ra> of Indiana, writi* n 
at the instance of the Sena«eof that respectable State, ex- 
pressly lefer to his votes giver in the Senate of the United 
States, tor his opinion as to ti.e power of the Geneial Go- 
Termnent, aod inform him tt at his opinion lemained unal- 
tered ? And < e wenot fi;id,up»n consulting the j«urnals of 
the Senate, that amjng ol»ier votes affirming ihe existince 
©f the po vi-r. he voted for an appropriation to the Chesa- 
peakr- lud Delaware Cani^l which s only about fourieea 
miles in extent? And do we n-t Uuow that it wa< at tiiat 
time, like the Maysville road now, in progres- of execution 
under the direction of ji company incorporated by a St-ite? 
And tha , k^hils' the Maysville load ha; a c>n(.exion with 
roads east of Maysville and snuih-west of Lexington tha 
Tornpiking of which was co tempiat^-d, thai canal b»'i OO 
<ODnciion wiib any '^'' er exisung CaoaW 

2* 



it 



18 

The Veto Message is perfectly irreconcileable wiih the 
previou!! acts, votes, and opiaions of Gen. Jackson. It does 
not express /'ltd' opinions, but those of his advisers andcoun* 
sellors, and rspecially those of his cabinet. If we look at ti^e 
cooaiiosition of chat cabinet, we cannot doubt it. Three of 
the five who, I believe, compose it,(whether the Post Master 
General be one or not, I c.o not know,) are known to be di- 
rectly and positively opposed to the power; a fourth, to use 
a teim 'Jef^criptive of the favorite policy of one of them, is a 
non-commillal, and as to the fifth, good Lord deliver us 
froffi such friendship as his lo internal improvemerits. Fur- 
ther, I have heard it from good authority, (but I will not 
vouch for it, alrhnogi> I brlieve it «o be true,) that some of the 
gentUmen from the South waited upon the President, whilst 
be held the Maysville bill undf-r consideration «nd told ^im 
that if he app'-oved fif that bill, the South would no longer 
dipprove of him, but oppose his administration. 

I cannot, t^ere'or'*, consider the message as conveying 
the sentiments and views of the President. It is impos-ible. 
It is the work »tf his Cabinet ; and if untbrtunately they weie 
«ot practically irresponsible to the people of the United 
States, they would d«^serve severe aniraadversioni for having 
prevailed upon the President, in the precipitation of busii^ess, 
and perhaps without his spectacles, to put his name to suck 
B paper and stnd it forth to Congress and to the nation.— 
Why, I have read that paj er again a id again ; and I never 
can peruse it without thinking of riiplomacy, and the name 
of Talleyrand, Talleyrand, Tallyerand LferpetOilly recur- 
ring. It seems to have been written in the spirit of an ac- 
tommo.lating soul, who, being determined to have fair 
weathfcr in any contingency, was equally ready to cry out, 
good Lord, good Devil. Are you for internal iraprovemett<i? 
T«-'U may extract fri^m the message texts enough to support 
your opinion. Are you against them 1 Ti.e message sup- 
pltvs you with abundant authority to countenance your 
views? Da yo'i ihiak that a long and uninierrupted cur- 
rent of cr.ncurrins decisions oujght to settle the question of a 
controverted power ? S'» ttif authors ol the message affect 
lo beliere. But ought any precedents, however nuaierous, 
Jno be allowed to esta dish a doubtful power J The mtssage 
agrees with him who thinks tiot. 

! cannot read this singular document without thinking of 
Talleyrand That r mask-ble person was one of the roost 
eminent and fo' f unate men of the French Revohition. Prior 
foits common- ement, he ht-ldaBishoprick tinder the ill-fn led 
Louis the Sixtennth. Wher> that great p'-litical storm show- 
ed itself aSctve the lorizon, he saw which way the wind was 
going to blow, and he trimmed his sails accordi gly He 
was in th; maj-rity of the Convc.tion, of tt"«- National As* 
lem ly, and of the party that su.-.tained the bloody Robe- 
spierre and his rut-throat sucessor. He belonged to the 
?arty of the consuls, the cousui for life, aad finsilly the Eto«- 



19 

peror. Whatever party was uppermost, you would see the 
h^-ad of Talleyrand always tiigh am-ng them, never down. 
Like a certain dexteriou^ aniiMal, tlir w him as you plfase, 
htad or tail, back or belly uppermost, h» is always sure t« 
light upon his feet Durins^ a great part of (he ceriod des- 
cribt-d, he was IVlini*ter of F reign Affairs, and, ^It'ongh 
totally devoid of all principle, no man ever surpnssed him in 
the adroMness of his diplomatic n9te>> He is now, at aa 
advarced age, I belif"vp, Grand Chamberlain of his Majesty 
Charles the Tenth 

1 have lately seen an amusit,^ anecdote of this celebrated 
man whioh forces itself upon me whenever 1 Ion; ar the 
Ca inet Message. The Kir-.a of France, like our President 
towards the close of the last srs»ion of Congress, found lim- 
self in a minority. A qaesuon arose whe« er,in consHqupnce, 
h^ should diigulve the Chamber of D^pu^i♦'s, which re^era* 
bles our House of Rf prcsentatives. All France was agita- 
ted witli the question. No one could solve it At I'-ugtb 
thpy roi.clu'Vd to go to that sa :acious cunning old fox, Tal- 
leyrand, to let them k ow what shiuld be done. Itil you 
what, gentl men, said he, (looking very gravely and taki'ig a 
pinrh of snuff,) in the morning I ihinU his majesty will (lis. 
solvr th*» Deputies ; at n on, I have changed that opinion ; 
and at nig i I >^iavp no opinion at all. No*', on rea^'-ing the 
first column of this message, one thinks that the Cabinet 
have a soi t of an opinion ir- favor of iiiiemal raproveraents, 
with some limitations. Bv the time he ha> rea ^ to thf mid- 
dle of it, he conclude? they have a 'opted t^'C opposite opin- 
ion ; and when he gets to the end of it, he is perfectly per- 
suaded they ^ave ^o opinion of their own w latever .' 

Let us glanc? at a few only of the reasons, if r asons they 
can be call -d, of tiiis piebald message. The first is, that the 
exercise of the power has tiroduced discord, and to le- tote 
harmony to the National CounciU it sbo'dd be abandoned, 
or which is tantamount, the Constitution rau-t bf amended. 
The President is therefore advised to th.row hims If into the 
Kiiuority. Well — did that >-vive harmony? When the 
que^ti n was tak'H in th House of the people'e Repr»-sen- 
tatives.an obsti-atp mHJ irity s-ill vote. I for ti'e bill, the 
•bjecti'DS in 'h« message notwiths'andi g. And in tbe 
S' nate, the Repre-enfativ s of tbe States, a refi artory 
m-joritv stood unmove '. Bn' do^s the messae" ro-an to 
assert that no great iiieasure. about which public sei.tiineut 
is much divided, ou^bt t > be adonted in conspqneoce ; f t ^at 
division? T' en none can ever be a ''.pt, d. Apply t -i* n w 
rule to th- case of the Am riran Revolution I he olonies 
were re. ;t into in pla^ ablp parties — 'heTories every wheie 
abounded, and 'n some places out numbpre the Whigs — 
This continued to b- the state of ff-in?- throughout the 
rev( lutioi'ary contest. Sui^nose s. me ti^nid, time seiving 
Whi^ tiad, duiino its progrr^ss, a-ldreiseci the public, and 
adverting to the discord which pi tivdiled and to (be espedi^ 



20 

ency of restoring harmony in the land, had proposed to 
abandfn (»r p Sip 'm the establishmf ut of cur liberty and 
inrtepend 'nfeuulll all sb. uld agree in a^^serting them? The 
liifevv rwa«; opposed b^ a powerful and talenled party; 
wr at woul bav- been ttiought ol President Madisor*. if, 
instead of a patriotic and energeiic message, re- ommending^ 
it, astheoi.ly ahe»native, to pieserve our honor and vindi- 
cate o r righ!, he had come to Congress with a prop .sal hat 
XV*- should continue to submit to the wrongs and drgi adation 
infli< led upon our country by a foreign power, because we 
were ui.happily grt-at'y divided? What would have b^^come 
of the settlement of the Missouri question, the TuriflT, the 
Indian ill of ttie last Session, if the existence of a stjong 
and alnn s» f-qual division in the pubic councils ou^ht to 
baveprevent d their adopcon ? The principle is nothing 
more nor less t! ana declaration that the right of the major- 
ity to govern must fie yielded to the perseverance, respec- 
tability and ntimbersof the m noiity. It is in keeping with 
the Nullifying doctrines ofS ul;« Carolina, and is such a 
prif.ciple as m^ght be expectrd to be put «urih by such a 
cabiner. The government of -he United States, at this 
juncture, exhibits a m St rem ;ikable sj e tacle It is that 
oj a majorily o/ihf. Nation having put the powers of govern- 
tiient into the hands of the minority Ifanv o e < an doubt 
this, let hira ook at the element* of the Executiv-, at the 
presiding officers of the two houses, at th comr-osition and 
the chair. xen oHhe most ini, ortant committees, who hap« 
and direct the public business i.. Coogeess. Let him look, 
above al!, ai measures, the necev.sary consequences of such 
an anomalous state of things — intena' Imp ovement gone, 
or going; the whole American Svstem thr a^ened, and the 
triumphant shouts of anticipated rectory sounding in our 
ears. Georgia extorting, from the fears of an affrig ted 
majoiii of Congress, wn Indian bill, which may prostrate 
all the laws, treaties and poli.y which hv.ve rffulattd our 
relations with the Indians from «he commencement of the 
Gavernment ; ai d politicians in South Carolina, at (he same 
time brantlishing the torch of civil wr»r, and pronouncing 
unbounded »ulogiunis upon the President for the good he 
has done, and the till greater good which they expect at his 
bands, in the sacrifit e •( the interests of the msjoiity. 

Anoter reason a'^signed in the Ma» sville Message is, the 
desire of paying the JNatioi'al debt. By an art parsed in 
jhe year 1817, an annual appropriation was male of ten 
tnillions of do'lars, which were vested in the Commissioners 
©f ihe sinking fund, to pay toe principal and the interest 
of the puUlic debt. That act was prepared and carried 
through Congress by one ol tie most e.'-tiu a leand enl ght- 
eoed men that this r )untry ever '.r duced, whose prt-raa(ure 
death is to i<e lamented on every account, but especially 
because if he v\ere new living, he wouhi be able, m'<e than 
any other man, to check the extravagance and calm \^t 



21 

VioJencc rsgio; in South Carolina, his native State. Uodet 
the of.erationof that act, nearly one hundred and fif«y mil- 
lions ot the principal and inter St of the public debt were 
paid, prior toihe comm* nceme* t of the present adminis- 
tration Durmgtbat of Mr. Adams, between forty and fifty 
were paid, whilst larger appropriations of money a>.dland 
weie made, to objects of Internal Iruprovements, thau ever 
had been made by all preceding administrations togetner. 
There only remained about fifty millions to be paid when 
the preser.t Chief Magistrate entered on the duti s of that 
oifice, and aconsiderableportionof that cannot bedi«charged 
during th'- prese' t official term. 

Th^r red-^mption of the debt is, theref re, the work of 
Congress; the President ha-? i othing to do with it, t; e Secre- 
tary ot the Tieasury being directed annually to pay the ten 
millions toti'C Commissioners of the Sir king Fund, whose 
ciuty it is to apply the amount to the extinguishment of the 
debt The S-.cretary hiuas'-lf has no raor«? to do with the 
operation ti an t' e hydrants through which the water passes 
to the consumptionof the population of this city. He turns 
the cock, on the first of Ja- uary and first of Ju'v, in eacti 
year, and the public treasure is poured out to ttie public 
creditor fiomthe reset voir filled by the wisdom of Congr-ss. 
It is evident, from this just view of the matter, that Con- 
gress, to which belongs the care of prsvidintr th«« ways and 
means, was as comp tent as the President to determine 
what port, or. of their constituents' money could be applied 
to the improvement of their condition. As much nf the 
public debt as car-be paid will be discharged in four > ears 
byth operati n ofthe Snking Fund. I have seen, in some 
late pa, er, a calcuia'ion of the delay which would have 
resulted iu its payment, from the appropriation to the 
Maysvil'.e R ad, and it wati less than one week ! How ha3 
it happned that under the adniiui-tration of Mr. Adams, 
and duri: g evey yrar of it, such Urge and lib- ral appro- 
priations oulfl be made for Internal Improvements, without 
touching the fund devoted to the public deb , and that this 
administration should find its If baulked in its first y^ar ? 

Tt;e Veto Message procet-ds to insist that the Maysville 
and Lexington R ad is not a National but a local R .ad of 
ftixty miles in length, and conPned within the limits of a 
paiticular State If, as that document also asserts, the 
j>ower can in no case be exercised until it shall have been 
explained and defined by ai- amendment of theConsritution, 
the discriminatiou of National and Local road?, would 
seem to be altogether unnecessary. What is or is not a 
National Road, the M-ssage supposes may admit of contro- 
vtrsy.a. d is not susceptible of precise definition. The 
difficulty wiiich its authors imagine, grows out of their 
attempt to substitute a rule founded upon the extent and 
locubty of the R ad, instead ofthe use and purposes to 
which it is applicable. If the road factlitatea in a consider- 



able degree the tranfiportatlon of the Mail to a considerable 
portion of tl^e Ui>ion, «nd at the same time promotes 
inff r" al commerce among sevfra* States, and may tend to 
accel< f-ate the movement of armifiii and the distiibution oif 
the • unitioos of war, it is of National consideiation.— > 
Tested by thiS: the true rule, the Maysville Ruad was 
undciubtedly National. It o nnects the largest body, 
per aps of fertile land in the Union with the navigation of 
the Ohio an Mississippi Rivf-r?, and with th canals ofthe 
States of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York It he ins on 
tht line w ich divides the State of Ohio and Kentucky, and 
of >>ursp quicktns trade and intet course between them. — 
Test-ed by th»* character of other works, for which ihe 
President as a S- nator v^.ted, o- which wer« apptovd by 
him only about a month before 'le rejected the Maysville 
Bill, the Road was undoubtedly National 

But tills viev« ofthe matt»T, however sitisfactory it ought 
to be, is imperfect, li will be a miit^d ti at 'he (umber- 
lan<i Road s National It is complet- d no further than Zanes- 
ville in the Stateof < hio On reaching that point two routes 
present themselves for its further extension, both National 
and both derserving- of execution. One leadin- norttiwest- 
wardl>, thiouj>>( th"^* Slates of Ohio, Indiana, artd Illinois, 
to Missouri, and ti^e other eouihwt-giwardly through the 
States of Ohio, Kentucky, Teni-essse, and Alabama, 
to th<- Gulf of Mex CO. Both have ' een long contem- 
plated. Ot the two, the south-we.siein is h-^ most wanted, 
»n the present state of pop';lation, and will probably always 
beofthn greatest use. But «he . oith-^^'estf-rn route it in 
progress of execution bfy nd Zanesville, and apropi iations, 
towarr s parts of it, w re sanctioned by the President at the 
las I session National highways can only be executed in 
»*>c'ions. at difftreut times. So the Cumberland Road was 
and ct ntinues to be construct-d Of all the parts ofthe 
south w St' rn route, the nad from Maysville to Lexington is 
raost needed, wi-et'ier we regard the amount oMransporta* 
tion and travelling upon it, or the impediments which it pre* 
sents i4. the Winter an^! S,iring months. It took my family 
fcur days to reach Lexii)gt'->n from Mavsville 'n April, 1829. 

The frame scheme which has been devised an - practised 
to dffeat th Tariff, has been adopted to undermine li ternal 
Improvements They are to he attacket^ i>< detail. Hence 
the (ejection of tie Maysvill- Ro;>d, the Fr dericktown Ro»d 
arid t.^e Louisville Canal. But is ihis fair? Oujrht ^ach pro- 
posed R.-ad to be viewed sei;arat ly and detached? Ought 
it not to be coi sidered i connexion with other great w^rks 
which are in progr<"ss of pxe: ution, or are projected? The 
po icv ofthe f'-es indit-ates wlsat ought to be the policy of 
tl^e friends ofthe power. 

The blow aimed at Internal Improvements has fallen with 
unmerited sev, rify upon thf State of K' ntucky. No State 
in the Uaiou has ever shown more geaerous devotioa to its 



23 

prservatlon, and to fhe'suppoit of its honor and its interest, 
thannh' has. During the lai.- war her son* fjughi f;al:antly 
bv thf sid*-; of the President on itir erli""'"'" 8 h ol January, 
wh.-n he covered himself v. i'h unfading laurels — \V h-re? er 
the w-ar !>«iied, I liey A^r*- tub' foimdainong the r>rpmost m 
ba< le, free y blet^dms: in th s rvice of h-n country. They 
have never tlire itened nor cnLuI-itr-d h" vh'uc of chis Haj [>y 
Union 1 ^eir Reprcsenintive* in Congress have • onst -n'ly 
and almost uuriani.i.i'ii-,ly suMpOrud the ( owfr, cheerluHy 
voting (or large a{.pro,>r aiion« to wofk> of I 'ernal la- 
pr 'Vriuents irj other Siates N-t one cent f the c m; ■'^•n 
trt-asur*^ has br n rxcended on a. y public Rontl in that 
StaiP. Tliey cootnbu-ed to th*- e'i'?vativ<n of tht Prt-videut 
iin'cr a firm convicii n, produt^ri by his drliberafe actg 
and his so'emn a^hir>ion«:. that he was f.'1-..-d'y to the pow- 
er. Under such • ircunis'ancns. hav*- thry n .•! just and abun* 
dant cause ol sarp is.-, r grt t aud m-Tiifi ation, at the late 
unexpected deci»i n. 

Another mode of des;royin2; the svs'em, f bout which If ar 
I have dt'tai'ed you too long, which its foes cavt adoi<led, 
is to a«sail the character of i:3 fri'^nds. Ca; >>u othfrwise 
acci^niii for the spirit ofaniHiosi;y wi-h which I am pursued? 
A Sentiment this morning augh' my ^-ye, lu the .»h pe of a 
4th rrJuiy toast, proposed a' the ce<e.)rati:in of tha< anniver- 
sary in S. Carolina by a gentlen.an whom i never saw and 
to whom f am a loal stranger Wi'h umanity, cha»i y, a^d 
christian benevol- nee un^xampl.-.d he wished t at 1 n.ieht 
be driven so far beyond he fiigid regions of the Northe n 
Zone that all Hell could not »haw me! Do you believe it 
was against mc, this f<-ebie ad fr.il form, toiteii g wit^ 
as:e, this lump of perishirg clay, that hII tnis kindness was 
directei? No, no, no. It was agiinst the Hseasures of 
policy which I have e-poused, against the sys'em which [ 
have la ou'ed to uphold, thi<t it was aimed. Ifl had been 
opposed to tiie Tariff a'^d L.te-na- Improvement?, and in 
favour of the S. Carolina doctrine of noUificatiou, the same 
worthy gentleman would have wishc'' that I might b-' ever 
fanned b^ soft bi eezes, charged witasomatic odors, ihaC 
my path might be strewed with ro>es, and my abode be an 
earthly para 'ise. 

1 am r.o-* a private m«n, the bu blest o» the humble, 
posBC'SS- d of no office, no power, no -atronage, no suf»si- 
dized press, no Post Office Depar ntent to distribute its 
effu-ioQ*, n as my, no navy, no offit al c;ips Iw ch 'unt my 
praises and t. dri. k, in flowing bowU, my health and p'Os- 
P' rity. 1 have nothing but the warm >ffeLto s of a portion 
of the people, and a fair reputation, the onl> in! eritauce 
derive from my fathi r, and aliuv'St the only inherilaiice 
ivhich 1 am desiroos of transmitiii>g to ray children. 

The present Chi f Magistrate has done me much wrongs, 
but I have freely fo* given him. He b'Miev d, n » do.jbt, 
that 1 had done him previous viroog. Althougi. 1 am uo» 



24 

•onscious of it, heka'^ that motive for his conduct fowardij 
roe. But ot; ers who had joined in the hue and cry against 
me h-dM no such pretext. Why then am I thus pursu.-d, my 
words preverfed and distorted, ray acts misrepresented ? 
Why do more thau a hundred presses daily point ih -ir can- 
non at m .and thunder forth their peals of abuse and de- 
traction ? It is not against me. That is impossible. A few 
yf-ars more, and this body will be where all is still and silent. 
It is against the principles of civil liberty, against the Tar- 
iff and Internal Improvements, to which the better part of 
my life has been devotei, tPat thi« implacable war is waged, 
ftly '•nemies flatter tiie nselves that those svstems may be 
overthrown l)y ray dr^struction. Vain and impotent h pe ! 
My existence is not of the smallest consequtoce to their 
preservation They will survive me. Long, lon^: after I 
airi gone, whilst the iotty hills encompass this fair city, the 
offspring of those mpasnres shall ^emain ; whilst the beau- 
tiful river that sweeps by its walls shall con'inue to bpar 
upon its proud bosom the wonders which the immortal ge- 
nius ofFulton, wich the blessing of Providence, has given ; 
Vfliilst truth shall hold its sway among men, those systems 
will invigorate the industry and animate the hopes of the 
farmer, the mechanic, the manufacturer, and all other class- 
es of our countrymen. 

People of Ohio here assembled— mothers — daughters, 
sons and sir- s — when reclining on the peaceful pillow of 
repose, and communmg with your own hearts, ask your- 
eelvf s, if I ouglit to be the un euiitling object of peipetu- 
al calumny ? If, r.hen the opponents of the late P?< si- 
dent gained the victory on the 4th of March, 1829, the war 
ought not to tiave i.easf>d, quarters been grauterl, and prison- 
ers released 7 Did not ti.os - opponents obtain all the horip 
ors, office>>- and cm dumentg of government ; the power, 
which they have fr^quently exercisei', of rewarding whom 
they pi ased and punishing whom ihey could ? Was not 
all this sufficient ? Does it all avail not whilst Mordecai the 
Jt-w stands at the King's gate ? 

I thank you, fellow citizens, again and again, for the 
numerous proofs you have given me of your attachnie^it and 
confidence. And may your fine city continue to enjoy the 
advantag<^s of the enterpiis' , industry and public spirit of 
its mechanics and other inhabitants, until it vies in wealth, 
extent and prosperity, with the largest of our Atlantic 
ipapitals. 



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